New Panasonic Micro-Four-Thirds Cameras Now in the Face-Off

The new and (hopefully) improved replacements for the much-loved Panasonic G1 have now arrived in our offices. It's still too early to say when we'll be able to publish the full tests, but in the meantime, you can now compare the Panasonic G2 and Panasonic G10 against each other and more digital cameras in our product face-off.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10	Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
Amazon Marketplace  £480	Amazon Marketplace   £699

These two new models are very similar to the G1. In fact, the main difference is the inclusion of a 720p HD video mode (MJPEG for the G10, AVCHD for the G2). The G10 loses the swivel-screen and has a run-of-the-mill bridge viewfinder, whereas the G2 has the excellent LCoS viewfinder, as well as a swivel touch-screen and a microphone socket.

The main differences between the G10 and the G2 are found in the cameras' user interface and design. From a technical point of view, differences are much harder to find, and even the image processing chip is the same Venus Engine HD2 (even though the G10 doesn't use AVCHD). So unless there's been some kind of quality control slip-up at the Panasonic factory, you'd expect these two cameras to get very similar results in our tests.

Indeed, comparing the Panasonic G10 against the Panasonic G2 in the face-off shows the results to be almost identical! The lens supplied with the G2 is perhaps slightly sharper in telephoto mode, but both lenses were perfectly fine. The lens supplied is, in fact,  the new 14-42 mm lens, which replaces the 14-45 mm previously shipped with the G1. The new lens should, in theory, offer the same performances but at a lower price (the stabilisation on/off control has been removed, for example).

So how do they get on against their rivals? Let's look at the Panasonic G10 vs Olympus E-PL1, another entry-level µ4/3 camera. Comparing Panasonic's Lumix 14-42 mm lens and Olympus' Zuiko M 14-42 mm lens shows the Olympus model to be more effective. However, Panasonic's optical stabilisation system clearly beats Olympus' mechanical version!

Full tests of both the G10 and the G2 will be coming in the next few weeks.

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